Slaying Two in a Row

"Su Xinghe!"

"Y-you... you... you're actually still alive?"

An ill-timed voice like a broken gong interrupted the silent exchange between father and son.

"Heh heh..."

Su Xinghe smiled.

If this had not been home, he would have fled as far away as possible. But for his family's sake, he had to deal with the trouble before him as soon as possible.

"You want silver, right..."

"There isn't that much at home. How about coming with me to the Brokerage Guild to get it?"

"Or we could leave the city. I know where the Breeding Cave is..."

As he spoke, he turned and walked toward the door.

He was gambling that the two men would be curious about why he had not died. More than that, he was threatening them—threatening them with the fact that he knew their true identities.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Seeing that they had indeed followed, a trace of cold severity appeared on his face.

"Xiao He, where are you going?"

Su Cheng chased after him.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be back soon."

"Big Brother, I'm coming with you!"

Su Haitao followed as well.

What greeted him was a stern look.

When the promised spectacle failed to appear, the crowd gathered at the mouth of the alley scattered in a hubbub. Only a small, thin figure remained crouched in the shadows by the wall.

As Su Xinghe walked past, his left hand, concealed beneath his robe, casually made a gesture.

Little Beggar gave a slight nod.

Once the backs of the three men had vanished into the distance, he swiftly ran toward the ruined temple he called home.

"Where are you taking us?"

The broken-gong voice came from behind him, but Su Xinghe did not stop walking.

"There are too many people here. Let's find an empty corner and talk."

Wang Kuoyi laughed at that.

Though he was only an outer member of the Peaceful Heaven Sect, he was still a seasoned Inner Tempering apprentice. With the rewards the Peaceful Heaven Sect had given him, he would soon break through and become a Martial Warrior.

"Heh... Don't think you can put on airs in front of me just because you learned some bed-strengthening trick. When I started practicing martial arts, your whole family was still playing in the mud!"

He knew that Su Cheng and his son had a half-baked cultivation method. It seemed Su Xinghe had learned it too.

Seeing him say this, Su Xinghe asked in a low voice:

"Why did you target my father and them?"

Wang Kuoyi curled his lips, his face full of disdain.

"It wasn't me who targeted them. Your family came begging us to teach them martial arts."

"So that was it..."

Su Xinghe understood.

His father must have wanted to earn more silver, so he had secretly taken the gang's path. But the Ascending Dragon Stance was merely a virility technique; it could not perform Qi Circulation or achieve Force Infusion at all.

"Uncle, why waste words with him? Just knock him out and drag him outside the city."

Behind them, Wang Yuan, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

He had actually grown impatient long ago.

Wang Kuoyi glanced around.

He discovered that, without realizing it, they had already reached the depths of Tongzi Ward.

All around them stood dilapidated, abandoned mud houses, while the city wall lay not far away.

He was just about to nod.

A splash suddenly exploded from the foul ditch to one side.

Accompanied by a thick stench of rot, several white skulls came hurtling straight at them.

"Who goes there!"

He hurriedly raised a hand to shield his face, shifting his feet as his body rapidly retreated.

Little Beggar seized the chance to dart forward and hand over a chisel.

"Die!"

Su Xinghe took the steel chisel and moved in an instant.

The Golden Ape Fist, carrying more than three hundred jin of brute force, viciously drove it into the man's lower back.

With a "thud," it struck home.

Wang Kuoyi staggered, then swept out with a backhand strike.

Bang!

The steel chisel was knocked away.

A force of over five hundred jin sent Su Xinghe flying.

"You brat, you're almost at Inner Tempering!"

Wang Kuoyi clutched the wound at his waist, warm liquid flowing over his fingertips.

He had not seen this boy for half a year. How had he suddenly become a Martial Warrior apprentice? Could the Su Family's bed-strengthening technique truly temper one's qi and blood?

Su Xinghe had done a good job keeping it secret. Otherwise, Wang Kuoyi would never have followed him to such an isolated place.

"It's you, little punk!"

Wang Yuan did not react as quickly as his uncle. His face had been plastered with foul water and mud, and fury instantly surged through him as he turned and lunged at Little Beggar.

"Boss..."

Su Xinghe's hand was trembling, but he still quickly climbed to his feet.

"Kill!"

He gripped the chisel tightly and pounced like a hunting leopard.

Perhaps because his waist and back were injured, his movements were inconvenient.

Wang Kuoyi stood where he was, one hand reaching for the steel chisel while the other thrust upward from below.

A handful of white powder suddenly appeared, smearing over his eyes and face.

"Ah!"

Two breaths later, the steel chisel plunged into the bloody, mangled eye socket.

"Boss, save me!"

Little Beggar had taken several punches from Wang Yuan and had now been forced into the corner of a mud house. Clutching his lower abdomen, he shouted loudly.

Fortunately, this young man was not a Martial Warrior. Otherwise, he would have been caught long ago.

"You actually killed my uncle!"

Watching Su Xinghe approach, Wang Yuan panicked.

His uncle was an Inner Tempering quasi-Martial Warrior, said to be on the verge of becoming Grade-Entering.

"Spare me..."

With a thud, he dropped to his knees.

Ten breaths later, two corpses were tossed into the foul ditch beneath the city wall.

"Are you all right?"

"Boss, I almost died just now..."

Little Beggar clutched his lower abdomen, trembling uncontrollably from head to toe.

"I'll carry you back."

Su Xinghe had taken several punches as well, but fortunately, his Fate Trait, "Unyielding Through a Hundred Setbacks," was at work. After only a dozen or so breaths, the piercing pain in his chest had already eased considerably.

He brought Little Beggar back to the ruined temple.

He left behind two large coins for him to see a doctor the next day.

Under the cover of night, Su Xinghe hurried back to his family's alley.

"Big Brother, you're back!"

"Where are Wang Yuan and the others?"

Su Haitao had been waiting at the entrance. Seeing him return, he anxiously asked.

Hearing the commotion, Su Cheng came out as well.

"Xiao He, are you hurt?"

Dim candlelight shone through the window onto Su Xinghe. His hair was disheveled, and his entire body was caked in dirt.

"I'm fine. They won't come again."

As he spoke, he walked toward a corner of the courtyard.

He drew up a bucket of cold water from the well and silently washed himself.

In truth, he knew the trouble was far from over.

Though that Brotherhood was made up of ordinary people, the Red Lotus Branch of the Peaceful Heaven Sect stood behind it. He needed to quickly find a way to make his father quit their work outside the city.

For instance, getting Haitao married first.

"Ah..."

Though he had his suspicions, Su Cheng swallowed them down.

His eldest son truly was different now.

He had only seen that sharp killing intent on the guards at Lu Family Farm.

After a while.

The four of them sat around the table.

Having dealt with the two unexpected followers, another problem still lay before them.

"Wife, is there any silver left at home?"

Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Su Cheng looked at his wife beside him, who had been secretly wiping away tears.

In the past half year, father and son had saved less than a thousand coins at the farm. Even if they asked the steward to advance the next half-year's wages, it would not cover the wedding expenses.

"Yes... cough, cough... yes, there is. I'll go get it."

Though Chen Guilan could not see exactly what had happened, she had heard the entire quarrel from the side.

Fortunately, her eldest son had proved capable, and the problem had already been resolved.

Just as she was about to rise and return to the room for the money, Su Haitao, who had been silent all along, suddenly pulled a dusty little pouch from his chest.

"Dad, I have twenty taels of silver here. It's Yu'er's private savings, left to her by her parents."

"This child..."

"How can we use her money as the betrothal gift? Tomorrow, go return it to Huaiyu."

Su Cheng's face grew hot.

All that remained in his heart was profound guilt toward Brother Yang and his wife, who had already passed away. These were twenty taels of silver—likely the savings of their entire lives.

And his future daughter-in-law had actually given all the money to his son.

"Mom, I have silver too."

Su Xinghe rose and stopped his mother, who was about to return to her room for money. Under everyone's puzzled gazes, he went up to the attic alone.

From beneath his bed, he pulled out a crumpled little cloth bundle. These were the silver coins he had earned through more than a dozen life-and-death fights over the past half year.

He had originally planned to use them to buy a genuine cultivation method.

But now...

He focused inwardly on his mind.

\n"Su Xinghe: Great River Gang (cannon-fodder disciple)"

"Martial Path: Apprentice Grade (Force Infusion 96%)"

"Fate Trait: Diligence Makes Up for Clumsiness"

"Trait 1: Watertight, Unyielding Through a Hundred Setbacks"

"Trait 2: Grains of Sand Form a Tower, When Water Flows the Channel Forms"

"Golden Ape Fist (Mastery) 955/1000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Mastery) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

After tonight, he would be able to break through his current realm.

Once he reached the Inner Tempering stage, he would have fulfilled half of the second condition in his agreement with Veteran's Trade House, and his wager with Elder Xie would be all but won.

So long as he paid a visit to the old gang leader of the Brokerage Guild.

Not only would the steward position with its monthly salary of ten taels be his, he would also gain ten bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pill to speed up his cultivation.

Just thinking about it filled him with excitement.

That was also what gave him the confidence to act and directly kill the two men within the city. So long as he displayed outstanding talent, he was confident the Brokerage Guild would step forward to protect him.

After all, Lu Xuanji, the youngest genius of the Lu Family, had also taken a month to break through to Inner Tempering—and that was an achievement made possible only by the Lineage's resources flowing to him without cease.

Yet Su Xinghe had relied only on eating chicken to match the record that genius had set, in merely twelve days.

But Su Xinghe suddenly changed his mind.

Now that he had a genuine cultivation method and his martial path was on the right track, he needed to adjust the way he had once acted without regard for consequences.

A mindset like "seeking wealth amid danger" was no longer suitable.

What he needed now was steadiness—seeking victory through stability and advancing step by steady step.

In any case, he still had more than two months to shape himself into a genius who was not too monstrous, thereby avoiding certain malicious eyes watching from the shadows.

Take Wang Kuoyi today, for example...

If his true combat strength had not already been close to Inner Tempering, how could he have been a match for those two?

At that thought,

Su Xinghe took out ten taels of silver from the small cloth bag and set them aside separately.

Carrying the remaining forty-odd taels, he went to the main hall.

"Father, this silver is for you."